Go More for Less: Spirit Airlines Opens up new Routes from Hartford, CT

A few years back, we splurged on first class tickets to Hawaii to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary and my 40th birthday. As she nestled down into her roomy seat and munched on shrimp cocktail, a much smaller Hannah said…“we should fly like this all the time!” And while that would be nice, is it completely not feasible. We saved a long time to make that trip happen. These days, I would much rather travel economy, but take more trips. So when low cost fares come up, I’m all over them.

We have been known to drive from Rhode Island to New York to get cheaper fares for spring break flights to Florida. Now, we don’t need to go nearly as far. Spirit Airlines just introduced new low cost routes from Hartford, Connecticut to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; and Orlando, Florida.

Spirit Flights from Hartford

Photo courtesy of Spirit Airlines

Hartford recently became the 60th city to join Spirit’s network. Hartford’s Bradley International Airport (BDL) is easily accessible from many New England communities. It is only an hour and a half from my home in Northern Rhode Island to Bradley, and it can easily take me longer to get up to Boston’s Logan airport. Plus, the parking at Bradley is a heck of a lot cheaper — again, I’m all about the “Less Money. More Go.”

Spirit flights from Hartford include three routes. On April 27, 2017, Spirit kicked off once daily flights between Hartford and Orlando, FL and seasonal flights (four times a week) to Myrtle Beach, SC. On June 15, 2017, Spirit will begin offering flights from Hartford to Fort Lauderdale, Florida once daily.

Photo courtesy of Spirit Airlines

Less Money. More Go.

The focus at Spirit is on the ultra-low fare. So no frills, but these days, those frills are getting hard to come by on many airlines. The bare fare gets you and a personal item to your destination. If you want a drink (even water), checked bag, or even a carry on, you’ll need to pay extra. So you only pay for what you use and not for what you don’t.

But let’s face it, air travel isn’t glamorous these days. I’d rather get there for less and have more money to spend doing things I enjoy (have you seen the price of theme park tickets recently???!!!)

Fresh Planes

One thing that always makes me nervous with low-cost airlines is the age and quality of their fleet. I was happy to read that Spirit has one of the youngest fleets flying.

Photo courtesy of Spirit Airlines

Next month, I will be trying it out myself on a flight from Hartford to Orlando so I’ll be able to fill you in on the comfort and service factor. I know the seats will be “cozy” (whose aren’t these days?) and they don’t recline, but frankly unless it is an overnight flight I never recline my seat. I find it so annoying when people recline and I have their seat in my face, making it impossible to use your laptop, get up, or even use a tablet sometimes. So maybe not reclining is a good thing.

Tips for Flying Spirit

If you are really looking to save money, there are some tips to keep in mind when flying Spirit, including:

Reserve your bag online — if you know you are going to need a checked bag or carry-on, buy it early online to save.

Print your boarding pass at home — it will cost $10 to print it at the airport so this is a good time to come prepared!

Pack a water bottle — bring along a refillable water bottle and fill up at the airport (after you go through security of course) because the Bare Fare does not include refreshments (so pack snacks too!)

Be prepared to squeeze — to make fare cheaper, they have added more seats to the plane so there isn’t a lot of legroom. If you want more space, pay extra for the “Big Front Seat.”

Buy travel insurance — Spirit fares are non-refundable. I always recommend travel insurance because “you never know” especially when traveling with kids. I use Allianz and I’ve found their customer service to be fantastic and they process claims quickly.

Join the $9 Fare Club — if you really want to save, you can join Spirit’s $9 Fare Club for access to exclusive travel deals and special bag prices.

So what are you waiting for? Get going, Florida and South Carolina are calling! You can book tickets direct on Spirit.com.

In a couple of weeks, we will be flying from Hartford to Orlando to see the latest and greatest at the theme parks including Universal Orlando’s new Volcano Bay waterpark and Disney‘s Pandora in Animal Kingdom so be sure to stay tuned. I will share all about our #MoreGo experience on Spirit, plus an update on the parks!

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